RSS is an acronym that many of us have probably heard or seen but don’t know quite what it means. RSS feeds are usually found on news websites or blogs.

These feeds are a listing of the most recent headlines, postings or news events for that site. Podcasts are also just RSS feeds that contain audio content. Many news sites now offer the audio version of their news postings. An RSS feed is a web address that you can put into any program that knows how to read the feed. This program is usually called an aggregator. Many email programs, such as Thunderbird or personalized websites, such as personalized Google and Yahoo, are aggregators in which you can save your RSS links. This allows you to organize all of your favorite information sources onto one webpage or into your email program for easy access.

RSS feeds are read using Thunderbird. In order to read them, you'll need to set up an RSS account. Follow these steps:

In Thunderbird, click on "Tools" and then select "Account Settings"

Click the "Add Account" button in the lower left of the screen

Select "RSS News and Blogs" and then click "Next"

Leave the default Account Name as is, and click "Next"

Click "Finish"

Now in Thunderbird, if you scroll below your Inbox and other folders, you should see a section called “News & Blogs”. Click on this section and then click on “Manage Subscriptions”. From here you can see any RSS feeds you may have already added. You can then click on “Add” to copy in the web address, or link, of any RSS feeds you like.

TCNJ now has many RSS feeds related to news, press releases, or events related to the campus or specific schools and departments. The Library also has a listing of RSS feeds by topic for new books it obtains. This semester our courseware system, SOCS, has developed a new feature allowing professors to add relevant RSS feeds to their courses for students to view.

Did you know that TCNJ has 2 of its own campus cable channels? Media & Technology Support Services runs campus cable channels 20 and 23, available to the entire campus direct from Forcina Hall.

MTSS has recently purchased new equipment, which, when fully implemented, will greatly expand the possibilities for our campus cable resources. This new equipment will allow us to:

Run programs on DVD (as well as continuing to run programs on VHS)

Connect our satellite dishes (KU and C Band) to the campus cable system and send any satellite program to any tv connected to the campus cable system.

Implement a digital bulletin board that can be used to display upcoming events, special announcements, etc

Please remember all requests for media to be broadcast must be submitted to the Media Services department located in the Library. To ensure that all legal rights and guidelines are followed, we are unable to re-broadcast any media unless it is approved and submitted to us by Media Services.

Information Technology currently distributes critical patches released by Microsoft on the 3rd Wednesday of every month to campus machines in order to reduce the amount of time individuals need to spend managing the security of their systems, and to improve the overall security posture at The College (see http://www.tcnj.edu/~it/security/patchmanagement.html for more information).

Microsoft has been releasing patches later than they used to. In order to stay more current with the application of these patches, we will now distribute the patches on the 4th Wednesday of the month. The process will still occur at 5 am to minimize the inconvenience caused by this important step in improving security. As a reminder, your machine may need to reboot for the patch to take effect. Rebooting your computer, or the classroom computer, is an important step in applying these patches. Thank you for your cooperation as we work to improve the level of security and limit the impact of viruses and worms on our campus network.

Default Save Locations

Ever need to recover an older copy of a Microsoft Office file? You could be in luck! MS Office automatically makes backups while you're working. It's simply a question of where those backups get stored. It varies by program, and here's the list:

Summertime is here, with its hot and humid days, and you know what that means: Air conditioning!

With electricity and energy costs on the rise, TCNJ is trying to get every member of the campus community to conserve energy, which helps keep our energy costs down and has the added benefit of preserving our environment!

Don’t use a screensaver – use your monitor’s power off setting, which will turn off your monitor after a period of inactivity

Shut down your computer at night – especially Friday nights, so that it isn’t running all weekend.

Turn off your printer – make sure you turn it off from it’s power switch, not from a surge protector or power strip – some printers ink will dry out if they are not shut off from their main power switch.

If you have speakers, a scanner, or other extra equipment, make sure they are turned off when you’re not using them.

If you teach in a multimedia equipped classroom, make sure you shut off the projector after your class.

Even better news: you can follow most of these tips in your own home so you can stay cool without breaking a sweat this summer!

Quick Links Here are some of our favorite links. Keep this handy for easy reference.